Virtanen lab

At the heart of the processes regulating RNA function in all living organisms are the reactions synthesizing, modifying, re-organizing and degrading RNA. We study primarily enzymes involved in regulating the fate of mRNA. For our studies we use experimental systems based on mammalian and Drosophila cells. A main goal is to understand how mRNA turnover/degradation, through the mRNA specific cap and poly(A) tail, is integrated with other essential mechanisms of gene expression/regulation.